Bursa Malaysia opened broadly lower on Friday, with selling pressure dominating trading following Wall Street’s sharp overnight losses amid renewed concerns over artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks.
At 9.10 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 16.50 points or 1%, to 1,619.36 from Thursday’s close of 1,635.86.
The benchmark index opened 15.31 points higher at 1,620.55.
Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 640 to 67, while 155 counters were unchanged, 1,911 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover stood at 391.82 million units worth RM206.90 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street ended sharply lower as the AI-stocks rout re-emerged, prompting some investors to move funds into US Treasuries.
He said the US 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.843% as funds flowed into US Treasuries following the equity sell-off.
“Back home, we may see some reaction to the trashing of US equities as traders may be spooked, albeit temporarily. As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,630-1,640 range today,” he told Bernama.
Among the 30 FBM KLCI constituents, 24 counters traded lower, four higher and two were unchanged.
Of the heavyweight stocks, Maybank and Public Bank were six sen lower at RM10.10 and RM4.90, respectively. CIMB dropped eight sen to RM7.07, Tenaga Nasional lost 12 sen to RM12.98 and IHH Healthcare rose five sen to RM7.77.
In active trade, Zetrix AI bagged one sen to seven sen, VS Industry fell two sen to 30 sen, Supermax and Dagang Nexchange trimmed 1.5 sen each to 45 sen and 38.5 sen, respectively, and Nationgate slipped 13 sen to RM1.74.
Among the gainers were Hengyuan Refining, which firmed eight sen to RM3.13, Petronas Gas, which strengthened six sen to RM17.36, Spritzer, which gained four sen to RM3.67, Eco World Development and Hibiscus Petroleum, which added two sen each to RM1.92 and RM1.93, respectively.
Among the top losers, MPI fell RM2.28 to RM36.60, Nestle lost RM1.20 to RM94.80, Kelington dropped 57 sen to RM7.37, Vitrox dwindled 48 sen to RM10.12, and UWC shrank 44 sen to RM6.15.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index tumbled 169.54 points to 11,965.30, while the FBM Top 100 Index plunged 160.67 points to 11,801.66.
The FBM Mid 70 Index weakened 401.37 points to 16,953.36, the FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted 194.27 points to 11,812.83, and the FBM ACE Index declined 177.48 points to 5,145.17.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 3.18 points to 172.07, and the Energy Index fell 12.29 points to 794.18. The Financial Services Index slipped 162.77 points to 18,966.14, while the Plantation Index slumped 52.96 points to 8,731.27.
